


Beep Beep, Richie

by delicatetozier



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Please be careful!!, Suicide, and now he has sad friends, richie has bad parents :(, super super super triggering, this is sad!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-20 21:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14902722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicatetozier/pseuds/delicatetozier
Summary: After his suicide, Richie Tozier's friends begin to overthink every little thing that could've led to it.





	Beep Beep, Richie

It was abnormal - the silence.

Not only abnormal, but extremely unwelcome.

Beverly’s arms sat snugly around Eddie’s shoulders, holding their bodies firmly together. Stan and Bill had a similar pose, while Mike and Ben preferred to stare at the tiled floor. There were many inappropriate jokes to be told, but no one to tell them. Eddie regretted his last words before the accident.

_(beep beep, richie)_

He never thought they would be taken so seriously. Beverly’s head sat upon Eddie’s prominent collarbone, both uncomfortable and somewhat consoling. The low hum of the lightbulbs filled their ears better than any silence could, although they were dim on the white walls and white floors.

_(I'm talking to fill the void, eds)_

When the doctor walked in, the humming was drowned out by the rapid beating of six heart. Six hearts which should have been seven. Mike respectfully gathered to his feet, his hands nervously twiddling. The question didn’t need to be asked, it was achingly obvious.

“We did everything we could.”

_(those’ll kill you one day, eds. those stupid pills.)_

A statement that Eddie once rolled his eyes in response to quickly became painfully ironic. Beverly was first to break down into tears, then Ben, then Bill. Stan cradled his head in his hands, hunching over to hide his face. Mike watched Eddie carefully, waiting for a reaction - but it was repressed.

_(can you ever shut your fucking mouth, richie?)_

That was the thing about Richie Tozier; he was delightfully over-the-top. He could shut his mouth, and he had proved it in the worst way possible. When the notorious trashmouth decided to make a point, he did.

“You can go see him if you’d like.”

Eddie felt sick to his stomach, his lunch threatening to make a reappearance.

Could he go see Richie? He did not trust himself.

But, Beverly seemed to make his decision for him, latching onto his sweater clad arm and tugging him along.

_(could you imagine the day when I actually do shut my mouth?)_

But they no longer had to imagine, because there he was. Richie looked the same, only paler and quieter. He laid upon the bed, covered with a sheet as if asleep, except his chest did not move. Beverly let out another heart-wrenching sob, clutching onto Eddie for life. He bit down onto his wobbling lip until his mouth filled with a metallic flavor.

_(you’d all miss me, don’t deny it.)_

Only Eddie did not miss Richie, he craved him. The annoying nicknames, the never-ending mom jokes, the constant teasing. Eddie could still feel Richie’s fingers squishing at his cheeks in the most bothersome way as his face wore that signature, adorable, boyish grin. The same grin Eddie would never see again.

_(I always heard dying is like falling asleep; slowly, then all at once.)_

Stan collapsed to the floor before even making it through the threshold, bringing Bill down with him. Ben gripped the doorframe with such force his fingers turned white. White like Richie’s stiff body.

“Have any of you contacted his parents?”

The question was unnerving. Bill coughed - choked, more like - desperate for air as Mike shook his head.

“They’d be too drunk or high to answer.”

_(If you kill yourself, you go straight to Hell.)_

Eddie found himself nearing Richie’s bed, although he hadn’t even noticed when he’d started moving. His shaky fingers brushed the thick gauze protecting Richie’s wrists, as if he wanted to rip it off and see what wound had taken Richie’s life away. He could no longer fight the sensation building up behind his eyes.

_(but Hell really couldn’t be any worse than home.)_

“He didn’t feel it - he took a lot of pills before making the cuts.”

Eddie’s hand met Richie’s cold face, his forehead resting on the icy flesh of Richie’s cheek. His free hand spread across the still chest, waiting for a heartbeat that never came. Eddie felt his lungs contract, body trembling with heavy sobs.

“To him, it was just like falling asleep.”

_(I’d rather slit my wrists than see those alcoholics again.)_

Beverly began to reach out to Eddie, but was stopped by Ben’s hand on her wrist. And Eddie cried, as Mike had waited for. He cried, not only for the loss, but for all the things that would forever remain unsaid. Eddie had a plan, and this was the farthest thing from it.

“Richie.”

The name tumbled from his mouth through a storm of cries, barely even audible. And suddenly, Eddie was in the bed too, curled against the lifeless body. The gauze pressed against his bare leg was nauseating, only because he knew what lay under it.

“Please wake up,” pleaded Eddie, “Please, Richie.”

But he didn’t. There was no miracle; no movement or sharp intake of breath. Richie Tozier remained dead.

“You -You’re a fucking _asshole_ , Richie Tozier!”

Eddie sat up, tears of anger streaming down his flushed cheeks. His small fists beat against Richie’s ribs, small thuds filling up the room.

“You fucking left me! I _hate_ you!”

It was not Beverly who finally stepped in, but Mike. He picked up Eddie with ease, taking him from the bed and ambling out of the room with him. Eddie fought against Mike’s arms, screaming in agony as he was distanced from Richie’s body.

“How could you - how could you leave me like that? You big, selfish prick! I _need you!_ Wake up, wake up, _fucking wake up_ -”

Beverly continued to heave with cries, now in Ben’s arms. Eddie’s words only made her cry harder and louder. Stan and Bill huddled together, limbs entangled as they poured their emotions onto each other. Mike had to carry Eddie all the way into the parking lot, murmuring encouraging words to him the entire way. But, Eddie could only focus on his own words - more than likely the last words Richie ever heard from him.

_(beep beep, richie)_

He just wished Richie wouldn’t have listened.

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally posted on @trashmoutheds, but that account has been moved to @delicatetozier


End file.
